No illnesses have been reported, said Dr. Ian Williams, acting chief of outbreak response and prevention branch for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In coordination with the CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plus other federal agencies and state health departments, the FDA is closely monitoring and assessing the potential risks of illness from affected products.

"Our investigators were able to identify this problem before any illnesses occurred," said FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg. "While the investigation is continuing, the agency is supporting reasonable steps to continue to protect the public health."

The manufacturer of the affected product is Basic Food Flavors Inc. in Las Vegas. Only HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors is involved in this recall. This is the first recall with this ingredient.

Recall will likely grow over days, weeks"We don't know precisely how large this recall will get," said Dr. Jeff Farrar, associate commissioner for food safety, FDA's Office of Foods. "We expect this to get larger over the next several days to several weeks."

The FDA conducted an investigation at the facility after a customer of Basic Food Flavors reported findingSalmonella Tennessee in one production lot of HVP to the FDA Reportable Food Registry, created in September 2009.

After getting the tip, the FDA collected and analyzed samples at the facility and confirmed the presence ofSalmonella Tennessee in the company's processing equipment. The company is recalling all hydrolyzed vegetable protein in powder and paste form that it has produced since Sept. 17.

Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring.

The food registry was created after the
recall of salmonella-tainted peanuts
that sickened several hundred. "When companies receive a product that they believe may be contaminated, they have to let the FDA know," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy FDA commissioner. "Within just a few days, we were [investigating]."

The FDA declined to identify the customer who made the report.

At this time, FDA is taking several steps to instruct industry and protect consumers from potential salmonella infection.

"This situation clearly underscores the need for new food safety legislation to equip FDA with the tools we need to prevent contamination," said Farrar.

SalmonellaFDA is advising industry that the recalled bulk HVP product should be destroyed or reconditioned according to FDA-approved procedures. FDA is also recommending recalls of certain products that might be eaten by consumers without any processing or cooking steps to address the potential risk.

"Our investigation is continuing. We are proceeding with special studies to make sure foods containing those products are safe," Farrar said. "We are working with food manufacturers and distributors to provide guidance on any products that will need to be recalled. We are also creating a Web page to find any recalled products that may be in their pantry."